Hanging With Minnie Mouse

Ah man, a year ago today I was on a Disney Cruise sailing around the British isles.  Just looked at the shirt I'm wearing in this pic and that it's September 4th.  Not what I was planning to write, but I got distracted before even writing this thing.  It's the first and only cruise I've been on, and it was stupendous.

Minnie Mouse!  The Plaza Inn!  Doing character breakfasts/meals in general at Disneyland is a special treat.  Usually my family does it when we're together and want to do something extra special.  It's a great way for the kids to meet the characters without standing in long lines, as the characters circle about when they do their rotations.

Typically my family does the character breakfast at the Grand Californian Hotel in Downtown Disney.  Easy access from the Holiday Inn, but also the few times we splurged to stay on property, once in each of the hotels to try them out.  The Holiday Inn next to the parking structure is just such a good location, and three nights there = one night at Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel, the budget Disney hotel.

The Grand Californian Storytellers Cafe character breakfast has a woodland theme with their characters.  The Plaza Inn, which is at the far end of Main Street USA close to the castle and the entrance to Tomorrowland, use to do a Princess Breakfast.  Now their characters are eclectic and Minnie's friends, so pretty much anything goes.  I'm not quite sure of the cost, but I believe it's about $60 and it's a buffet.  My Dad surprised my Mom, Aunt, and I by spontaneously scheduling it last July.

Just have to say that Cinderella's Fairy Godmother is my favorite!!!  She has spunk and sass.  Loved it each time she came to our table.

It's fun collecting buttons at the Disney parks.  There's so many and they're free.  These Minnie buttons were given to us when we checked in, but if memory serves me right you can get buttons at the information locations where times are posted.  Don't quote me, as it's been awhile since I've checked, but it doesn't hurt to ask.  There's "First time" buttons, "birthday" buttons, "anniversary" buttons, etc.

Oh, and on a random note.  My Aunt hasn't been to Disneyland since the 80's, so it was an interesting experience.  We took her on Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean, oldie but goodies, and she said the rides were lame.  Lame!?  She only wanted to go on fast rides.  So I thought, "Guess we won't be taking you on It's a Small World."  A lot of people don't like that ride.  But last April that ride was my baby nieces favorite ride.  She's turning two soon, so not quite a baby, and she communicates pretty well for her age, so it was just so stinking cute!  Glad to have that memory.

We all Disney differently.

(Just have to say that I love the line music for the Jungle Cruise.  It's so festive.)